DAVIES, JOSEPH EDWIN

Name: Joseph Edwin Davies
Rank/Branch: O3/US Air Force
Unit: 497th Tactical Fighter Squadron
Date of Birth: 08 April 1940
Home City of Record: Alexandria VA
Date of Loss: 19 May 1968
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 174200N 1062800E
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F4D
Refno: 1182
Other Personnel In Incident: Glen D. McCubbin

Source: Compiled from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S.
Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families,
published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK in 2001 with
information from Bob Hipps.  2020

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS:  Joe Davies and Glenn McCubbin comprised the crew of an F4D
Phantom fighter jet sent on a night mission over North Vietnam.  When they
failed to rejoin their wingman, another flight in the area was called in to
make an electronic search.  Official location, according to coordinates
given, places their last known location near the city of Ron in North
Vietnam.

Voice radio contact was established in a location that could not be exactly
established, but the families were told the radio transmission was
originating from across the border into Laos, some 50 miles from the city of
Ron.  The voice could not be identified, but when search and rescue was
called in, a second transmission was received from about 30 miles southwest
(deeper into Laos) of the first contact.

Davies and McCubbin were never found.  Their radio transmissions proved
futile. One can only imagine the loneliness and frustration they must have
felt when their would-be rescuers could not bring them to safety.

If, as the situation indicates, the two were lost inside Laos, it is then
possible that they were captured by the Pathet Lao, the communist element of
government of that country.  They would be among nearly 600 Americans lost
there despite the protestations of the U.S. Government that we were not at
war in Laos.  Even though the Pathet Lao stated on several occasions they
held "tens of tens" of American prisoners, their freedom was never
negotiated for, and not one man held in Laos was ever released.

Should Davies and McCubbin be among the hundreds many experts believe are
still alive as captives, what must they be thinking of us?

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01/2020

https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000KZIbEAO

MAJ JOSEPH EDWIN DAVIES

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On May 19, 1968, an F-4D Phantom II (tail number 66-8695) took off from Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base, as the lead aircraft in a flight of two on a night armed reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam. Shortly after arriving at their target area, the Phantom's wingman dropped its ordnance and proceeded to return to Ubon. The wingman air crew then saw three explosions, believed to be the ordnance dropped from the Phantom; however, the Phantom never rejoined the wingman as scheduled. The wingman's communications equipment was malfunctioning at the time and as a result the crew could not attempt to contact the Phantom's crew following the explosions. The wingman flew back to Ubon but the Phantom was not seen again. One of the crew members' remains were recovered following the war, but the other crew member is still unaccounted for. 

Captain (Capt) Joseph Edwin Davies entered the U.S. Air Force from Virginia and was a member of the 497th Tactical Fighter Squadron. He was the pilot of this Phantom when it went missing, and was lost with the aircraft. Subsequent to the incident, and while carried in the status of missing in action (MIA), the U.S. Air Force promoted Capt Davies to the rank of Major (Maj). Today, Major Davies is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. 

Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual's case to be in the analytical category of Active Pursuit.

If you are a family member of this serviceman, DPAA can provide you with additional information and analysis of your case. Please contact your casualty office representative.

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